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Obama takes command

All week, the TV pundits have been asking, “Who is going to finally get tough with McCain, Bush and Cheney?”

The answer was given Thursday night: Barack Obama.

Obama kicked it up a notch — several notches, really. He went beyond being inspiring in his usual lofty, articulate but somewhat vague manner. He took command and took no prisoners. The Bush/Cheney administration got strafed and John McCain got all his recently lobbed hand grenades tossed back at him. McCain says Obama’s a mere celebrity? Obama laid out the story of his life — the hard times, the single mom, the food stamps, the student loans, the hardworking grandparents — and said, “I don’t know what kind of lives John McCain says celebrities lead, but this has been mine.” Obama said a debate on who has the best temperment to be commander in chief is a debate he is eager to have. And in noting McCain’s campaign slogan, Putting America First, he challenged the assumption implied by that tag line:

So, I’ve got news for you, John McCain, we all put America first.

Chris Matthews on MSNBC was unable to hold back in his praise:

I’d be criticized for saying he inspires me. To hell with my critics.

Matthews went on to extol the way Obama set out a vision of common purpose for America. Pat Buchanan, MSNBC’s token conservative, was nearly as effusive. The former Reagan speechwriter said Obama’s address was “a genuinely oustanding speech,” perhaps the greatest convention speech he has heard, adding:

This wasn’t a liberal speech at all, it was a deeply centerist speech.

Over on FOX, the commentators were unsurprisingly less breathless, yet Bill Kristol, the most prominent neo-conservative pundit in the country, acknowledged that Obama was masterful, that he exceeded expectations and that McCain is facing a very tough challenge. The FOX critics said the policies Obama laid out were not dramatic departures from Democratic policies of the past. They are pretty much correct. Nevertheless, Obama’s plan would obviously be a sharp departure from the policies of the last eight years and most of the ideas being put forward by candidate McCain.

One specific idea Obama put forward that wasn’t being picked up on in the after-speech analysis that I thought might prove as important as John F. Kennedy’s pledge to put a man on the Moon was the Democratic candidate’s pledge:

In ten years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle East.

That promise puts me in mind of Al Gore’s speech earlier in the evening when he made the important link between the money our country is borrowing from the Chinese to buy Saudi oil so we can burn it up and imperil our environment. Three of the biggest challenges for the next president are right there: Our economic weakness (the huge national debt), our foreign policy Achilles heel (reliance on foreign oil) and the looming challenge of climate change. All three could be significantly ameliorated by kicking the oil habit. If Obama could really do that in 10 years, he’d deserve to have a place carved on Mount Rushmore.

The aerial shots of Mile High Stadium packed with 85,000 people were stunning. As far as I can figure, this must have been the largest gathering for a political speech in American history. The Republicans will likely try to pass it off as another “celebrity” event, but the question lingers: could anyone but Barack Obama have filled that vast sports complex? Neither Hillary nor Bill Clinton could have done it. John McCain is reportedly having trouble finding 10,000 people to show up for the introduction of his running mate. Gathering a crowd is not a competition in which any politician can top Obama.

McCain will have to find other ways to beat his adversary. Up to this point, his best tactic has been to challenge Obama on experience, readiness and toughness. That’s still the Republican’s best shot, but Barack Obama revealed a lot more steel than he has shown us before in this acceptance speech. The fall campaign is shaping up to be a political battle for the ages.

Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate..